Khajuraho Airport in Madhya Pradesh has been ranked the best airport in the country in the 2026 National Service and Customer Satisfaction Index survey, even though it has not had a single commercial flight for the past two months.
The survey, conducted by the Airports Authority of India, ranked the airport first based on passenger facilities, cleanliness, security and overall service quality rather than the volume of passenger traffic or flights handled.
Commercial flight services at the airport have been suspended through July and August due to ongoing runway and other technical works, with operations expected to resume around October.
Before the suspension, Khajuraho Airport had only two scheduled flights, connecting the city with Delhi and Varanasi.
Airport director Santosh Singh said the ranking “reflected the hard work of the entire airport staff and the trust of passengers,” adding that the customer satisfaction survey was conducted when regular flight operations were still active.
Singh said commercial flight services would resume once the ongoing runway work at the airport was completed.
Bhopal’s Raja Bhoj Airport secured third position nationally in the same survey, while Khajuraho had also topped the AAI’s customer satisfaction survey in December 2025.
Local residents have raised concerns over the contradiction between the airport’s top ranking and the complete absence of flight operations during the July-August period.
Khajuraho Airport’s runway measures 2,286 metres by 45 metres, and its terminal building, inaugurated in January 2016, was built at a cost of about Rs 90 crore.
The Airports Authority of India conducts its National Service and Customer Satisfaction Index survey periodically to benchmark airports on the quality of the passenger experience they offer, independent of how much traffic they handle.
Khajuraho is best known internationally for its UNESCO World Heritage-listed group of temples, and the airport primarily serves tourists visiting the site as well as pilgrims and business travellers to the region.
(Image: Photo by Z thomas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
